Department for Transport

Bus Services: Antisocial Behaviour

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements there are for the drivers of public service vehicles to report unruly passengers to their depots and to the police at the time when a disturbance is taking place; whether there are any restrictions on how drivers communicate this; and what requirements there are to provide drivers with the equipment to enable them to do this.

baroness sugg: Bus/Coach crews have a duty of care towards their passengers under Section 5(1) of the Public Services Vehicles (Conduct) Regulations 1990. This section states that a driver and/or a conductor shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of passengers, who are on, or are boarding or alighting from the vehicle. Internal operator safety procedures, including provision of equipment is a matter for individual operators. The transport industry, local authorities, the police and others are already investing in and undertaking wide-ranging initiatives to improve the personal security of public transport passengers and staff and to keep our public transport systems as low crime environments.

Taxis: Insurance

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to add the type of insurance held to the information displayed when a registration number is entered into the Motor Insurance Database, so that passengers using, or firms employing, minicabs, can check that those cabs are properly insured.

baroness sugg: The Motor Insurance Database (MID) is owned and managed by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). The information contained within the database is provided by the motor insurance industry. The Government has no plans to propose changes to the MID.The MID already contains data fields to capture and display information about the type of use that the vehicle is insured against. For example Social, Domestic and Pleasure purposes or for Hire and Reward. However, in some instances this data is not uploaded to the MID by the insurance company, and instead one is referred to the insurance company for specific details. This information is not publicly available but is available to the Police for insurance enforcement purposes. Passengers and firms employing minicabs do not have the right to check insurance against the MID.

Railways: Concessions

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people who will apply for a 16–17 railcard in the first year after it is introduced; and what estimate they have made of the cost to the public purse in that year.

baroness sugg: Detailed plans are still being developed with the rail industry. Further announcements will be made in due course before the railcard is launched. The detail and negotiations with the rail industry will inform our estimates of likely take-up and costs associated with it.

Rescue Services: Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to the use of drones for air-sea rescue purposes in the English Channel.

baroness sugg: Her Majesty’s Coastguard is actively considering drone technology that could be used to enhance search and rescue efficiency across the UK, save more lives and reduce risk to personnel. This includes working with search and rescue partners and industry, to explore and trial the feasibility of using drones in real-life scenarios, which will improve situational awareness and decision making for search and rescue authorities.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord palmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent drones from interfering with equestrian events, including national hunt racing and flat racing.

baroness sugg: There are already existing laws which provide safety, security and data protection assurance which are relevant here. The Air Navigation Order 2016 restricts small unmanned aircraft (a drone of between 0-20kg) with a camera from being flown over or within 150m of congested areas, over or within 150m of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 people or within 50m of any vessels, vehicle or structure or people not under the control of the remote pilot. Furthermore, small drone users that collect personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, unless a relevant exemption applies. All drone users should also be aware that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act can apply and restricts people from undertaking any commercial activity, such as filming or photographing, on open-access land without the permission of the landowner. The CAA also require that commercial drone operators obtain a Permission for Commercial Operation (PfCO).

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Business: Marketing

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to boost business confidence following a recent fall in spending on marketing by businesses.

lord henley: Our modern Industrial Strategy is about making the UK the best place to start a business and we are strengthening the foundations of Britain’s economy, encouraging innovation in all its forms and supporting British businesses to thrive and grow.We are ranked top 10 in the world for doing business by the World Economic Forum and World Bank – and our business environment is amongst the best in the world.Through the Industrial Strategy, we are creating an economy that works for everyone: highly innovative, highly skilled and high quality, supported by low taxation and smart regulation. It is a long-term, cross-government plan for jobs and growth. It’s helping to shape a new future for a global UK by backing businesses and investing in innovation, skills, industries and infrastructure.We are committed to building long-term strategic partnerships with businesses through Sector Deals between government and industry, and we have identified four Grand Challenges where the UK will lead the world in developing innovative solutions which can transform peoples’ lives, building on our strengths to put the UK at the forefront of industries of the future.Our Business Productivity Review will be published shortly to explore actions that are most effective in improving the productivity and growth of businesses, including how we can spread the best practice of our most productive firms to those in the long tail. And as announced in the Autumn Budget 2018, we are investing £56m in programmes designed to enhance firm-level productivity, including improving peer to peer networks; a small business leadership programme and our Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Scheme.

Company Accounts

baroness bowles of berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difference in the definition of a liability in Part 18 and Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006 compared to that used in the International Accounting Standards; and what assessment they have made of whether any such difference would affect the delivery by auditors of sections 92, 498(1) and (2),519,714(4), 836, and 837of the Companies Act 2006.

lord henley: The Government has undertaken no assessment of difference in the meaning of a liability as used in Parts 18 and 23 of the Companies Act 2006 and that in the International Accounting Standards, which may be applied in accordance with Part 15 of the Act. This would be a matter for the courts.As the noble Baroness may be aware, the Government has recently commissioned a review of the standards of auditing in the UK to identify what more can be done to ensure audits meet public, shareholder and investor expectations. This will include consideration of what the requirements should be for audits in the future. The review is intended to ensure UK audits remain world leading. It will test the current model and ask whether it can be made more effective. Terms of reference for the review will be published in due course.

Tidal Power: River Severn

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of concerns over the future of the Wylfa Newydd and Moorside nuclear power station projects, they will re-examine the viability of the Severn Barrage project.

lord henley: The Department undertook a detailed study of the strategic case for a Severn Barrage in 2010 and concluded that there was no strategic case for Government investment in such a project. The Government remains open to considering well developed tidal range projects if they can credibly demonstrate that they represent value for money when compared to other forms of low carbon generation, such as offshore wind.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

St Helena: Obesity

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of an obesity epidemic in the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena; and whether they intend to take steps to address any such epidemic.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The St Helena Government is responsible for public health on the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena. The UK works in close partnership with, and provides funding to, St Helena to support their efforts to reduce obesity. In 2018 the St Helena Government launched a series of programmes to strengthen local health services so they can better advise, encourage, and motivate St Helenians to make healthier lifestyle choices.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the current protests in Harare, (2) the police tactics used in response to those protests, and (3) the potential impact on the stability of that country of the government of Zimbabwe’s decision to increase fuel prices by 150 per cent.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: While we condemn the violent behaviour of some protestors, and unlawful acts such as arson and looting, we are deeply concerned that Zimbabwe’s security forces have acted disproportionately in response. In particular, there are disturbing reports of use of live ammunition, intimidation and excessive force. On 17 January the Minister for Africa summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador to highlight our concern at the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe.Comprehensive and difficult economic reforms are necessary to address Zimbabwe’s economic challenges. However, the Government must implement these as part of a broad strategy, seeking the advice of the International Monetary Fund.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

lord brabazon of tara: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that European Health Insurance Card application forms on the official NHS or gov.uk websites appear at the top of internet search engines rather than those websites charging a fee.

baroness manzoor: The Department is aware of a problem with third-party websites presenting themselves as legitimate providers of Government services. The Government has taken robust steps to tackle misleading websites, routinely monitoring unofficial sites and reporting any cases of specious advertisements to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and National Trading Standards (NTS). This helps to ensure that only official European Health Insurance Card application websites appear at the top of Internet search results.The Government has also set up a webpage to enable members of the public to report misleading websites and lodge a complaint with Google and other search engine providers. Such customer insight forms an important aspect of representations made by Government authorities to the ASA and NTS in the continued effort to tackle misleading websites.

Female Genital Mutilation

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysisthey have conducted into the prevalence of female genital mutilation in England.

baroness manzoor: An estimated 137,000 women in the United Kingdom are affected by female genital mutilation (FGM). NHS Digital publishes annual experimental statistics – the FGM Enhanced Dataset – which supports the Department’s FGM Prevention Programme by presenting a national picture of the prevalence of FGM in England. The most recent quarterly statistics, published in December 2018 and covering the period July-September 2018, show that there were 1,630 women and girls who had an attendance where FGM was identified or a procedure related to FGM was undertaken. These accounted for 2,025 attendances reported at National Health Service trusts and general practitioner practices where FGM was identified or a procedure related to FGM was undertaken. There were 925 newly recorded women and girls in this period.

Midwives

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS midwives there were in England, broken down by age, (1) in the latest year for which figures are available, and (2) ten years earlier.

baroness manzoor: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.The following table shows the headcount number of midwives employed by the National Health Service in England, by five-year age band as at 30 September for the years specified. Comparisons between these data sets is not possible due to changes in headcount methodology.20082018All midwives23,65925,866Of which:  Under 256401,24225 to 292,1873,43730 to 342,4013,37235 to 392,9683,36740 to 444,7872,99045 to 494,7573,13750 to 543,3134,22555 to 591,7982,84660 to 647171,07965 and over91171Source: NHS HCHS workforce statistics, NHS Digital

Maternity Services: Staff

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many support workers were employed in maternity care in the NHS in England in each of the last three years, expressed as (1) a headcount, and (2) a full-time equivalent basis; and what was the age profile of such workers in each of those years.

baroness manzoor: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.The information requested is attached due to the size of the data. The table shows the number of support workers employed within the care setting of maternity services, in the National Health Service in England, in each of the last three years in headcount and full-time equivalents, by five-year age band, as at September 30 for the years specified.In March last year, the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Rt. hon. Jeremy Hunt MP) announced that there will be further investment in maternity support staff. This would include working with the Royal College of Midwives and other partners to develop new training routes into midwifery – this will help talented support workers to develop and move quickly to become registered midwives and help the midwifery profession attract and retain talented staff.



Maternity support workers 2016-2018 
(Word Document, 20.26 KB)

Midwives: Leadership

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to strengthen leadership within the midwifery profession at (1) national, (2) regional, and (3) local level.

baroness manzoor: As part of the delivery of Workstream 5 (Transforming the Workforce) of the NHS England Maternity Transformation Programme, Health Education England is working with the NHS Leadership Academy to develop a leadership training offer to Local Maternity Systems to support those working in maternity services to develop the collaborative, compassionate and inclusive leadership that evidence demonstrates is most effective in delivering improvements to care and better health outcomes.Health Education England is also working collaboratively with key stakeholders including NHS England, NHS Improvement, the Royal College of Midwives and Local Maternity System Leaders to ensure alignment with work that is already taking place to develop midwifery leaders and to ensure that the training offer meets the ongoing needs of those who will be delivering and supporting improvement across maternity services.Additionally, the NHS Leadership Academy works to support excellent leadership across the National Health Service. The Academy provides tools, programmes and expertise to support individuals to improve as leaders. Midwives can access all these resources, whether taking their first steps in healthcare leadership or working at a senior/executive level. The Academy also has ten local leadership academies who connect services on a regional level and provide bespoke support to leaders at every level across the country.

Childbirth

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many home births there were in each region of England in each year since 2000.

baroness manzoor: The data requested are not held centrally.

Public Health: Finance

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health and Primary Care on 20 December 2018 (HCWS1221), what assessment they have made of the adequacy of public health service provision, in particular the provision of sexual and reproductive health services, following their recently announced financial cuts in specialist public health services.

baroness manzoor: Local authorities will receive over £3 billion in 2019/20, ring-fenced exclusively for use on public health.Over the five years of the current spending review period we are making over £16 billion of grant funding available to local authorities in England exclusively for use on improving health. The grant is only a proportion of the total spending on public health: for example, NHS England commissions national screening and immunisation programmes with a budget of £1,205 million for 2018/19, and many other interventions occur in National Health Service primary care settings.Public Health England monitors progress against the wide-ranging set of indicators published in the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) which shows that, as a whole, for the majority of PHOF indicators the trends in England are either broadly constant or have improved in comparison with 2014. In 2017 there was a total of 3.3 million attendances at specialist sexual health services. This represents a 13% increase in overall attendances since 2013. Attendances at community sexual and reproductive health services have reduced but there has been an increase in use of long-acting reversible contraception methods which require far fewer follow up appointments and which may account for some of the reduction in these attendances.

Psychiatric Hospitals: Children and Young People

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many child and adolescent mental health in-patient beds there were in (1) Greater Manchester, (2) Lancashire, (3) Cheshire, and (4) Derbyshire in each of the last ten years.

baroness manzoor: Information on the number of child and adolescent inpatient mental health beds is not available in the format requested.

Health Professions: Regulation

lord macpherson of earl's court: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 13 June 2018 (HL8293), whether the Department of Health and Social Care has published a response toits consultation Promoting Professionalism, Reforming Regulation.

baroness manzoor: The four United Kingdom Governments’ consultation Promoting professionalism; reforming regulation closed on 23 January 2018. The Government with the devolved administrations are now considering how to take forward reform of professional regulation. A Government response will be published in due course.

Diabetes: Health Education

lord rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people with (1) Type 1 and (2) Type 2 diabetes have (a) been offered and (b) attended structured education courses in each clinical commissioning group area in the most recent year for which data are available.

baroness manzoor: Tables showing data detailing the number of people who were offered/attended structured education within 12 months of being diagnosed with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in each clinical commissioning group in the year 2016 are attached, due to the size of the data.



Diabetes structured education by CCG 2016
(Word Document, 78.69 KB)

Diabetes

lord rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the prevalence of (1) Type 1 and (2) Type 2 diabetes (a) in England and (b) in each clinical commissioning group area in the most recent year for which data are available.

baroness manzoor: A table showing data detailing the prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in England and in each clinical commissioning group area in the year 2017/18 is attached, due to the size of the data.



Diabetes prevalence by CCG in England 2017-18
(Word Document, 43.01 KB)

Obesity

lord rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) adults and (2) children are (a) obese or (b) overweight in each clinical commissioning group area in the most recent year for which data are available.

baroness manzoor: The information is not held in the format requested.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

lord rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are using (1) real-time continuous glucose monitors and (2) insulin pumps in each clinical commissioning group area in the most recent year for which data are available.

baroness manzoor: The information requested is not held centrally.

Dental Services: Children

baroness redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to promote awareness of the fact that NHS dental treatment is free for those under the age of 18.

baroness manzoor: All those under the age of 18, or under 19 and in full time education, are exempt from National Health Service dental charges. Those who are pregnant or gave birth in the last 12 months or are on specified income related benefits are also exempt from charges. Information on which groups of patients are exempt is widely available. All dental practices providing NHS care are contractually required to display a standard poster setting out current NHS charges and highlighting that patients may be exempt from or entitled to help with charges. This poster along with a patient leaflet setting out NHS dental entitlements in more detail, is provided free of charge to every practice in England delivering NHS dental treatment. As well as in all NHS dental practices, information on charges and exemptions is also available through other channels such as the online NHS dental section (formerly NHS Choices) and in the NHS ‘help with health costs’ booklet. The NHS Business Services Authority provides information on NHS charges and who is exempt through its Twitter and Facebook social media channels. NHS England also runs periodic local initiatives, where it assesses if there is a need to further raise awareness locally among those patients who may be exempt or are through low income entitled to partial help with costs. Specifically, for parents starting out on parenthood, information that children receive free treatment is included in the personal child health record, the so called ‘red book’ all new parents are given.

Gambling: Rehabilitation

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many dedicated gambling clinics will be established as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January; where those clinics will be; what are the expected (1) capital, and (2) annual running costs of those facilities; and when they will be opened to patients.

baroness manzoor: The scope and scale of funding allocated for specialist treatment for gambling related harm announced in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the geographical locations of these services, has yet to be determined by NHS England.

NHS

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the national implementation programme for theNHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January.

baroness manzoor: The National Health Service published the NHS Long Term Plan on 7 January 2019. The Government has asked the NHS to develop a clear implementation framework by spring 2019, to set out how the commitments should be delivered by local systems and ensure transparency for patients and the public.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Hereditary Peers: By-elections

lord grocott: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what was the percentage turnout of voters in each of the whole House hereditary peer by-elections.

lord mcfall of alcluith: Since the system of hereditary peer by-elections began there have been eight such by-elections where all members of the House have been eligible to vote. The percentage turnout of voters in each by-election was as follows:  Date of election Departed Peer Elected Peer Percentage of electorate who voted27-Mar-03Oxfuird, V.Ullswater, V.63.99%23-Mar-05Aberdare, L.Eccles, V.50.65%23-Mar-11Strabolgi, L.Hanworth, V.53.83%20-Jul-11Ampthill, L.Colville of Culross, V.40.70%17-Jul-13Reay, L.Borwick, L.44.35%22-Oct-14Methuen, L.Oxford and Asquith, E.36.46%27-Mar-17Lyell, L.Colgrain, L.43.08%23-Jan-19Skelmersdale, L.Reay, L.32.99%

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by the Minister of State for Employment on 8 January (HC Deb, col 181), what is meant by “testing a non-mandatory approach” in regard to the pilot of managed migration to Universal Credit.

baroness buscombe: The Government will conduct a pilot phase for the migration of 10,000 claimants from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit. The aim of this pilot is to ensure that claimants on legacy benefits, with a range of differing characteristics, can be successfully and smoothly moved on to Universal Credit. The Department is currently working closely with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders to design a pilot process of moving to Universal Credit for those legacy benefit claimants who do not move to Universal Credit following a change in circumstances. Several of our stakeholders have encouraged us to consider a voluntary approach to migrating claimants onto Universal Credit in the first instance, and we are committed to trialling this in the pilot, along with other approaches. This non-mandatory approach would involve engagement with claimants to discuss the benefits of Universal Credit for them. Claimants who chose not to voluntarily move onto Universal Credit as part of this initial piloting approach will remain on their existing benefit during the piloting processes. The Department has committed to ensure that every single claimant who is moved on to Universal Credit by the Department can access Universal Credit smoothly and receive the support they need during the transition. The Government has already committed to reporting on our findings from the pilot before bringing forward legislation to deliver a wider migration process.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce transitional state pension arrangements for women born in the 1950s who are adversely affected by the change of the state pension age introduced in (1) the Pensions Act 1995, and (2) the Pensions Act 2011.

baroness buscombe: This matter has been comprehensively debated on many occasions in Parliament. The Government will not be making changes to its policy on State Pension age for women born in the 1950s. The Government has already introduced transitional arrangements, costing £1.1 billion. This concession reduced the proposed increase in State Pension age for over 450,000 men and women, and means that no woman will see her pension age change by more than 18 months, relative to the original 1995 Act timetable. The Government will not be making any further concessions in addition to those arrangements already made for women affected by the acceleration of increases in State Pension age.

Universal Credit: Females

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women born in the 1950s and who retired between the age of 60 and the revised state pension age are in receipt of Universal Credit.

baroness buscombe: The available information is shown below and shows the number of women aged 60 and above who are on Universal Credit by employment status as of December 2018. Number of Women on Universal Credit by age group and employment status, December 2018, Great Britain: Age groupEmployment Status60-65Over 65TotalNot in employment25,80019826,003In employment10,1814110,223Total35,97824036,221 Source: Stat-Xplore, Department for Work and Pensions. The Department does not centrally collate information on a person’s retirement status except when State Pension is being claimed. This would incur disproportionate cost.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Department for Work and Pensions' Independent Case Examiner’s Office has closed its review of complaints regarding the changes in women's state pension age.

baroness buscombe: When a department and independent bodies face a legal case, they have to review whether they continue to assess claims or await determination of the legal case. This has been the policy under all governments, Labour, Coalition, and Conservative, for decades.The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) closed all live cases which concerned complaints about the state pension age for women (WASPI) when they became subject to legal proceedings, as is required under its governance contract. In the event the legal proceedings fall away or there is no determination on the matters which form the basis of the WASPI complaints, the ICE could consider reopening the cases at the request of the Department.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Products: Exports

lord rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Gardiner of Kimble on 16 January (HL12717, HL12718 and HL12719), what category of individual will be designated as an authorised signatory for export health certificates to enable products of animal origin, including (1) food for human consumption, and (2) animal by-products not intended for human consumption, to pass from the UK into the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

lord gardiner of kimble: Only Official Veterinarians can sign certificates for animal products intended for the EU for human consumption, except in the case of fishery, shellfish and composite products, which can be signed by a non-veterinarian (referred to as an Official Inspector in the certificates for these products). Certificates for animal by-products (not for human consumption) have to be signed by an Official Veterinarian. Official Veterinarians authorised to sign certificates in Great Britain are trained and authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and then employed privately. In Northern Ireland, Official Veterinarians are employed and trained by Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA).

Home Office

European Arrest Warrants

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many European arrest warrants the UK has issued in each of the last five years.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office does not hold the information requested.However, statistics on the European Arrest Warrant are published by the National Crime Agency each year. These figures include a breakdown of the numbers of requests made by the UK.These figures are published at:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics

Migrant Workers: Immigration Controls

lord green of deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) which countries they consider to be “low risk” in the context of provision for low skilled workers set out in paragraphs 25–31 of their White Paper on the UK's future skill-based immigration system (Cm 9722), and(2) whether such low skilled workers will be permitted to return to the UK to work after their one year “cooling off” period and, if so, for how long.

baroness williams of trafford: (1) To determine low-risk countries as set out in the UK’s Future Skills-Based Immigration System White Paper, the Home Office will consider a range of relevant factors such as returns’ agreements, reciprocal mobility agreements, co-operation on border security and prosperity. These measures will be reviewed regularly and further information will be provided in due course.(2) Following a 12-month cooling off period, previous holders of a temporary short-term work visa will be eligible to apply for another temporary work visa to come to the UK for as long as the scheme remains in place.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government how long on average it takes for an application to prove settled status or for citizenship under the Windrush scheme to be dealt with.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Secretary provides the Home Affairs Select Committee with monthly updates on the work of the department in connection with Windrush. This includes information on decisions made by the Taskforce, with a section on decision timeliness. The monthly updates can be found at the following link and attached is the most recent letter to the Chair of HASC sent in December 2018.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush



Letter - Chair of HASC - Dec 2018
(PDF Document, 576.29 KB)

Northern Ireland Office

Football: Northern Ireland

lord rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they plan to have, and with whom, about the release of £36.2 million of funding to develop regional football grounds in Northern Ireland which was previously approved by the Northern Ireland Executive.

lord duncan of springbank: The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act provides for the increased clarity and assurance to enable Northern Ireland departments to continue to exercise their functions to take decisions where these are in the public interest. The funding to develop regional football grounds in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, and Northern Ireland Office officials have engaged with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department for Communities. The department remains committed to delivering this programme and will seek decisions from incoming Ministers. These decisions should be taken by a fully functioning devolved government in Northern Ireland, and it remains the Government’s priority to work towards achieving that.

Peers: Northern Ireland

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government how often the current Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met those members of the House of Lords who are based in Northern Ireland as a group; and if she has not met them, whether there is a reason for this.

lord duncan of springbank: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets regularly with parliamentarians from across both Houses to discuss matters relating to Northern Ireland.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many joint trade reviews conducted with other countries in the last 12 months have resulted in the UK reaching agreement on free trade arrangements to come into force after the UK leaves the EU; and with which countries those free trade agreements have been concluded.

baroness fairhead: The UK cannot negotiate and conclude trade agreements while we are still a member of the EU. Joint Trade Reviews are a collaborative in-depth analysis into the mutual trading relationship between the UK and our partners to look for areas we can improve our bilateral trading relationships.   We will aim through these discussions to put in place various mechanisms to improve trading relations, remove barriers affecting UK businesses and bring benefits to UK consumers after we leave the EU.